


First Day of School

by TheGreatAllie



Category: Seven Little Monsters
Genre: Family, First Day of School, Gen, Insecurity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 20:07:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16125788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatAllie/pseuds/TheGreatAllie
Summary: It's chaos in the home of the Seven Little Monsters on their first day of school. But as they're all getting ready, Three has his own concerns about what the first day will bring.





	First Day of School

There was a flurry of activity inside 1234567 Chestnut Street. It takes a lot of work to get seven little monsters awake, fed, washed, dressed, and ready for the day. And they all had to be out the door by 8:30, or else they would be late for their first day of Monster School. It was a day they had been looking forward to for weeks, and now that it was here it was almost too much excitement, tension, and anticipation to bear.

"Come on, Six! The rest of us need to use the bathroom, too!" Two was pounding on the bathroom door, where Six had barricaded herself twenty minutes earlier.

"In a minute! It's all this summer rain, it's making my hair so frizzy! I can't do a thing with it!"

"Six, you look fine, just let me brush my teeth!"

Six yanked the door open and stuck her head out. "Oh, really, does  _this_ look fine?" She ran her fingers through her hair for emphasis.

Two squinted. Six's hair appeared, to him, to look exactly as it always did. "Uh, I guess."

"I look  _awful_ ," wailed Six.

"Six, you look exactly like you always do."

Six's face flushed. "Thanks a lot!" She slammed the door right in Two's nose.

"Ouch!" Two rubbed his nose. "Mom! I need to brush my teeth and Six won't let me in the bathroom!"

Mama called, from elsewhere in the house, "In a minute, Two! I am needed to helping Seven find his head!"

Seven's headless body was currently stumbling blindly through the kitchen. In its sightless rampage, it bumped into the table where Five and Four were currently finishing their cereal.

"Hey, watch it!" Four growled. He didn't notice Seven's body had bumped the table hard enough to knock Four's bowl in front of Five, where his voracious brother immediately scooped the contents into his mouth.

Four looked down in front of him and saw his bowl was gone, and then saw Five's tongue was in his mouth, which it only was when he had just used it. "Five! That was my breakfast."

"Oops. Sowwy," said Five.

"Now what am I going to eat?!"

Five put Four's empty bowl back in front of him with his tongue.

"Well, it's not going to do me any good now!"

"I found Seven's head!" One came swooping into the kitchen, holding out her new backpack. She landed in front of Seven, who was feeling the walls for the doorway. One opened the backpack and held it to Seven's body.

"Thank you," said Seven, picking up his head and screwing it back on. "I would not have been able to learn anything at school without a head to listen with."

"Mom!" One shouted.

"No yelling in the house, Oneling!" Mama stuck her head into the kitchen.

"Sorry, Mom. But we found Seven's head."

"Good," said Four. "Now I need something else to eat, because Five ate my breakfast!"

Two came into the kitchen then, too. "But Six is still in the bathroom! I need to brush my teeth!"

Mama held up her hands. "One problem at a time I can solve, my little monsters. Four, in the cabinet above the sink there is another box of cereal being. I will go tell Six out of the bathroom she must be."

Mama went to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Six, ready for school it is time for you to be. Come out now."

"But Mother," whined Six.

"No 'buts, Six. Two is needing to brushing his teeth."

Six heaved a melodramatic sigh and opened the bathroom door. "Everyone at school will laugh at me," she grumbled.

"Nobody will laugh at such a pretty little monster," said Mama. "Six, you are beautiful and you do not need to fussing so much with hair to be such way."

Six cautiously stepped out of the bathroom. "You really think so?"

Two dashed into the bathroom before Six could change her mind. In two minutes, his teeth were shiny and clean. "All right," he said, flashing his reflection a smile. "I'm ready for school."

"All monsters coming down to the door!" Mama called. "Time for to going school!"

There was a scramble, and soon the monsters were all lined up in order by the door, with Mama standing in front of them. "Are we all here being?"

"Count off," said One. "One!"

"Two," said Two.

Four glanced over at his long-nosed brother. "Wait. Where's Three?"

Two looked at the empty spot next to him. "Huh? I don't know. I don't think I've seen him this morning."

"Out of bed he is, of that I am sure," said Mama.

"He was at breakfast," said Four. " _He_  got breakfast..."

"I said sowwy!" Five shrugged.

"Upstairs he must still being. I will get him. Wait outside for me please."

As the six monsters present began squashing themselves through the doorway, Mama went upstairs. She opened the hatch to the monster's bedroom and looked around. All was quiet and still. "Hmm..." Mama climbed up. "All is empty seeming. Where is my little Threeling?"

She saw something move in the corner, and went over to investigate. There was Three, crouched between his bed and the wall, with his personal trunk pulled up to him. What with the bed, the trunk, and the corner, he had completely boxed himself in.

"And what is going on here? Three, you are not ready for school!"

Three was still in his pajamas. He was crouched so that his knees were pulled up to his chest but he wasn't quite sitting. Around him were pieces and parts of his different costumes: a pair of pilot's goggles, a long purple pirate's coat, a pair of alligator boots. "I, uh... I don't have anything to wear," said Three sheepishly.

"And what is wrong with burgundy turtleneck?" Mama picked his favorite turtleneck up off the bed, where it had been lying discarded. "My little Threeling is looking always so very handsome in this."

"I don't think that's right for school," said Three.

"Three. School is not a place to be playing dressup. Here at home, is okay. But at school we are learning, and learning you cannot do if you are pretending you are the astronaut."

Three's eyes widened. "Astronaut! Why didn't I think of that?" He reached into his trunk and pulled out a space helmet. "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed!"

"No eagles and no landing," said Mama, taking the helmet and putting it back in the trunk. "Three, why are you trying to hard to finding the costume for school? Never do you have such problems. Always the right costume comes to you."

"It's never been this important before, Mom," said Three.

"You are worried about making the good first impression, yes?"

"Well, yeah." Three sat down fully and hugged his knees. "Of course I am."

"Three, everyone is nervous being on their first day of school. It is nothing to be having worrying about." Mama put her hand on Three's arm. "Your brothers and sisters are having the same worries, and they are downstairs all waiting for you."

"Yeah, but they don't have anything to worry about."

"What worries is my little Threeling having that his siblings are not sharing?"

"Well, you know," said Three. "They're all... interesting."

"What ever do you mean, Three?"

"All my brothers and sisters are interesting," said Three, a bit more forcefully. "One's a great athlete. Two's a stand-up guy you'd be lucky to call a friend. Four practically  _commands_  attention, and Five is adorable. Six is pretty and talented, and Seven can ride the first week  _alone_  on his head-unscrewing, and by then everyone will know what a nice and gentle kind of guy he is."

"Yes, your brothers and sisters are having the wonderful traits, but so is my little Threeling."

"No, I'm not. No, I don't. I'm not interesting at all."

"Oh..." Mama nodded, understanding. "Three isn't interesting. But maybe Pirate Captain Three is? Or Crocodile Three, or Leonard Threestein, or Trot-Along Three?"

"Yeah." Three nodded and wiped his eyes before his fur got wet.

"Don't be crying now. Dry your tears." Mama reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a monster-sized handkerchief. "Here you are. Now, listening to your Mama you must be. Three, you are a wonderful little monster and Mama is happy to have you. You are not less interesting than your brothers and sisters. Three is always knowing so many, many interesting things his siblings were not at the time knowing. You are not needing costumes for that."

"I guess not..." Three folded his arms over his knees and rested his chin. He still looked sad.

Mama kissed him on the cheek. "I am sure of this: as soon as your new schoolmates are getting to know you, the  _real_  you, they are loving you."

"You don't know that."

Mama winked. "Mama's always know these things. Three is not needing costumes to be interesting. Three is wearing costumes  _because_  he is interesting, and interesting he can be without costumes." She picked up the burgundy turtleneck. "Thinking maybe you are ready to face a day of school?"

Three wiped his eye with the handkerchief and looked at the turtleneck. "Yeah... Yeah, I think I am. Thanks, Mom."

"Mama is going downstairs now so Three can change. Come down right away quickly and we all together will go."

Mama climbed down the ladder and went outside, where her little monsters were waiting less than patiently. As soon as they saw her, they all started speaking at once.

"Well? Did you find Three?"

"Where is he?"

"We're going to be late!"

"What's  _taking_  him so long?"

Mama held up her hands. "Enough with the questions asking! Three will be out in a moment only. Patience, please."

The front door slowly opened and out stepped Three, dressed in his favorite burgundy turtleneck. "Hi, guys," he said, giving a little wave. "Sorry to make you wait."

"So, Three," said Four, "who are you supposed to be today?"

Three smiled. "Just Three. Today, I'm just Three."

"Great," said Two. "Now, are you ready to go? We're already late!"

"Race you!" One took off into the air.

"No racing! Walking together, we are!" Mama scolded.

The seven little monsters and their mama all began the short walk to school, all in a line, all in order with Mama leading.

"Hey, Three?" said Two, turning his head slightly so Three could hear, but not enough to whap anybody with this long nose.

"Yeah, Two?"

"I kinda like it when just Three shows up for things."

"Really?" Three raised his eyebrows. "Well... maybe he'll show up for some more things. Every now and again," he added, remembering his astronaut costume. After all, there would always be a time for dress-up.


End file.
